Roadrunner's Digest

Good evening Farquhar Families,

I hope each of you has had a restful weekend. We are excited to launch another successful week of learning and building community at Farquhar. There are a few timely announcements in this week's digest, so your partnership is sincerely appreciated!

Tomorrow, September 11, offers us the opportunity to reflect on the resilience and strength that defined us. I know you will join us in honoring those we lost by instilling empathy and hope into the next generation so they can make a meaningful difference in the world.

In this week's newsletter you will find:

• This week's bell schedules
• TIMELY: MAP Testing dates (MAP-M is tomorrow)
• TIMELY: Back-to-School Night details (This Thursday)
• NEW: Roadrunner Shout Outs!
• NEW: Student punctuality incentive program
• NEW: Health Education Family Life Letters for all grade levels
• NEW: Save-the-Date for School Picture Day!
• A message from Mr. Britton, Principal of Sherwood HS
• ParentVUE registration resources
• IXL login procedures for Math and ELA
• Save-the-dates for Outdoor Ed
• NEW: Wellness resources at Farquhar MS
• NEW: PTA Corner Updates on upcoming events

Need to get back to an previous edition of the Digest? Find them in the archive on our school's website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/farquharms/.

We are operating with a testing bell schedule on Monday 9/11 for MAP-M, then a normal bell schedule for the remainder of the week.

• Monday: MAP-M Testing Schedule (with Open ROCK)
• Tuesday: Academic ROCK
• Wednesday: Advisory
• Thursday: Academic ROCK
• Friday: Open ROCK

All students will be taking the Fall MAP-M and MAP-R (acronyms for the Measures of Academic Progress test in Math and Reading) on September 11 and 18, respectively.

Your student's teachers use this data to design instruction that is tailored to their needs. Therefore, we ask that you please ensure your student is in school by 8:05am on both of these days. For your reference, the testing block on both days will be concluded by 11am.

Please plan to join us on Thursday, September 14, 2023, for Back-To-School Night (BTSN). This is a valuable opportunity for you to meet your child’s teachers, hear important school information, learn how to become involved, and identify ways to communicate with us here at school.

Click on the link below for the Back-to-School Night schedule and important details:

• BTSN Parent Letter
• BTSN Carta a los Padres

Would you like to recognize a student or staff member?

Submit a SHOUT-OUT!

Every day, staff members and students are going above and beyond to make Farquhar a place where everyone feels safe, valued, and respected. Recognizing these exceptional individuals is a community effort!

Complete the Roadrunner Shout Out form any time. Individuals will be recognized publicly in the next Roadrunner's Digest, and they will receive a certificate thanking them for their contribution to our school community. You may submit your shout out as a family, a team, an individual, or anonymously! The link to the form will be in every Roadrunner's Digest, as well as on our school website.

Thank you for taking a moment to thank a Roadrunner who has made a meaningful difference.

In an effort to promote student punctuality to class, we are implementing a new incentive program. All students who accumulate no more than three tardies from September 11 - September 21 will earn an opportunity to purchase an icy treat during open ROCK time on Friday, September 22.

You can support the incentive at home by monitoring your student's attendance in ParentVUE! The attendance code for an unexcused tardy is "TU". You can find period-by-period attendance records in ParentVUE by clicking the attendance tab from the left menu, then select the date. Attendance for each period will appear at the bottom of the screen when you scroll down.

If your student has earned the incentive, you will receive an email after school on September 21.

Please take a few moments to review parent/guardian letters about units being covered each grade level Health curriculum.

In Grade 6, students will receive instruction in the following units: Mental and Emotional Health; Substance Use and Misuse Prevention; Safety and Violence Prevention; and Healthy Eating:

• Grade 6 Health Memo English

• Grade 6 Health Memo Spanish

Students in Grades 7 and 8 are scheduled to participate in the Family Life and Human Sexuality (FLHS) curriculum. Specific information about the units can be found in the letters below:

• Grade 7 Health Memo English
• Grade 7 Health Memo Spanish

• Grade 8 Health Memo English
• Grade 8 Health Memo Spanish

Dear Sherwood Community,

As we continue to build on the safety and well-being of our fans, our policy for the 2023-24 football and sports event season will be that no middle school and/or elementary school students will be allowed to attend the game without being accompanied by a parent. We realize that tickets are now being purchased online, however, money can be restored if the student does not enter the game.

Please also follow the guidelines below:

• Middle and elementary school students coming to the game must be escorted and supervised by their parent/guardian at all times
• Middle and elementary school students are welcome to watch the game in our stands
• Any middle and elementary school student not in the stands watching the game with a parent/guardian, will be escorted out of the stadium. (The parent will be notified)

We are requiring all students to present an ID card at the ticket gate. If no Identification is

available, the student's high school class schedule will be accepted.

We are also NOT allowing any food, drinks, and/or coolers to be brought into the stadium by all fans, including students, parents, and community members. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding.

Respectfully,

Mr. Tim Britton

Principal

Sherwood High School

Synergy ParentVUE is the Parent Portal that serves as the primary home-to-school communication vehicle for schools to share information regarding grades, attendance, scheduling, access into myMCPS Classroom, and more.

If you have not yet created an account in ParentVUE, request activation here.

An overview and FAQ for ParentVUE can be found here (scroll down to find the information).

At Farquhar we utilize the IXL learning platform to provide students with practice opportunities in math and literacy that is tailored to their needs and meets them at their level. Due to MCPS contract updates, students will access their Math and ELA IXL accounts in two places:

To access the Math IXL account: Navigate through Clever. If Clever does not auto-populate a student’s username and password, the login info is:

• Username: student’s first initial and their last name @montgomerycps (example: asmith@montgomerycps)
• Password: student ID number

To access the ELA IXL account: Go to IXL.com.

• Username: student’s first initial and their last name @williamhfms. (example: asmith@williamhfms)
• Password: student ID number

Attention Grade 6 parents/guardians:

Interested in being a chaperone for Outdoor Education? If so, please email Mr. Eisenhower ASAP! Parent Chaperones are needed for both sessions! If you are interested in chaperoning, please email Mr. Eisenhower ASAP at mark_a_eisenhower@mcpsmd.org.

Forms/Training Links are below:

• Background Screening Packet
• CPS Background Check
• Online Recognizing Child Abuse Training

We know that students are ready to access instruction if they are well and have necessary social-emotional supports. To ensure that students, families, and staff are aware of the mental health and wellness professionals, services, and programs at Farquhar MS, please see the enhanced features added to our website and the district website in this week’s Above the Line reading, BeWell 365.

The FMS PTA will be hosting a Community Support Meeting on Tuesday, 9/12 7:00-8:00 p.m. via Zoom with Dr. Christina Conolly-Chester, Director in the MCPS Psychological Services Office. The purpose of this meeting is to offer parents resources and discussion strategies (for their families) regarding the investigation and ongoing media coverage surrounding the Washington Post article involving the former principal of FMS.

Due to the sensitive nature of the meeting, if you wish to attend, you are required to complete the RSVP form. Upon submitting your RSVP form you will be provided a Zoom link for the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 9/12 at 4:00 p.m. We ask that you not share the Zoom link with others, but instead, encourage everyone in the FMS community to register for the event in order to obtain the Zoom link.

Tuesday, October 3, 2023: In collaboration with the Sherwood High School PTA, the PTA is hosting a showing of the movie “Angst”.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, all Farquhar students and their families are invited for a free viewing of the movie Angst on Tuesday, October 3rd in the Ertzman Theater, sponsored by the Mia Fontana Foundation and the Sherwood Cluster PTAs. A community discussion about addressing anxiety will follow. Free popcorn! Chick fil-A sandwiches, drinks, and other snacks will be available for purchase. Please rsvp here. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., program is from 7:00-8:30 p.m.

We encourage you to join and donate to the FMS Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)! The FMS PTA supports student programs and activities, and your donations help to fund the entire budget. Over the past few years, the PTA has funded Math, English, and Science materials and programs; Guidance and Wellness initiatives; Field trips; Teacher Appreciation events; Parent/family resources, and more. Your contributions will allow the PTA to provide events and programs at FMS this upcoming year!

We encourage you to join and donate to the FMS Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)! The FMS PTA supports student programs and activities, and your donations help to fund the entire budget. Over the past few years, the PTA has funded Math, English, and Science materials and programs; Guidance and Wellness initiatives; Field trips; Teacher Appreciation events; Parent/family resources, and more. Your contributions will allow the PTA to provide events and programs at FMS this upcoming year!

The PTA will be providing dinners for the teachers and staff before Back to School Night on Thursday, 9/14 and breakfast for the bus drivers to thank them for all their work on Friday, 9/29. Your donations make these events possible.

General donations or donations to support a particular class can be made at the link below.

Join / Donate to the PTA at: https://fmspta.memberhub.com/store

Several families have noted an interest in connecting with others who drive their children to/from school. If you are interested in joining a carpool, complete the form below. We will share the responses with all those who complete the form on 9/8 so you can reach out to each other and create your own carpools.

https://forms.gle/oH8m5Quz6YJycoqf9

Feel free to contact me anytime and follow Farquhar on Twitter!

Email: Angelica_L_Smith@mcpsmd.org
Phone: 240-740-1200
Twitter: @farquharms